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The Heavenly Book rose into the sky, scattering golden streams of light. Pages flew out one by one, fluttering through the air until they completely enveloped the Pioneer.
Under Su Wen's control, these pages began to condense and take shape, arranging themselves according to a very specific and intricate pattern.
As the pages faded into a translucent shimmer, a pale golden barrier formed around the exterior of the Pioneer, firmly protecting the vessel.
"Many thanks, Grandmaster Wen!" the sailors cried out in delight.
Su Wen's intervention provided a level of protection far greater than the combined efforts of the entire crew. This barrier of golden light was estimated to be strong enough to withstand even a full-strength strike from a Spirit Saint. Using it to guard the Pioneer now was more than sufficient.
Zhan Tian Douluo also felt his worries about the ship's safety vanish. Every time a storm arrived, he would simply leap away from the Pioneer and head deep into the heart of the tempest to experience the "Intent" of the storm from a closer, more intimate perspective.
Su Wen, meanwhile, used his Heavenly Book martial soul to directly sense and perceive the power of the storm. Thus, the various Spirit Masters aboard the Pioneer spent their voyage cultivating as they sailed across the vast expanse.
Two and a half months after setting out, the Pioneer continued its journey across the ocean. The sky was clear, and as far as the eye could see, there was only the brilliant blue of the sea meeting the horizon.
However, after spending ten weeks at sea, even Su Wen, a relative newcomer, had grown accustomed to the environment—to say nothing of the sailors who had lived on the waves for far longer.
"Stay sharp. There might be danger ahead," Su Wen warned the others. He felt a faint itching sensation between his brows, a precursor to his spiritual intuition.
The sailors manning the ship immediately grew excited. During the past two months, they had been gaining insights from one storm after another, but many had yet to truly grasp the core of the technique. Now, all fifteen sailors, along with Hai Da, had fully entered the gateway of understanding.
Hearing that a storm might be coming, they actually felt a surge of excitement rather than fear. Along with that thrill, the fifteen sailors also felt that the barrier between themselves and the ocean had thinned considerably—a sensation born from the dissipation of their fear of the sea.
According to Su Wen's observations, by repeatedly perceiving the storms and experiencing the reality of sailing, they were on the verge of sensing the embryonic form of the "Ocean Intent."
On the deck, Su Wen and the crew prepared to meet the wind and waves. However, this time felt different from every previous encounter.
The winds swept in from all directions, more violent than anything they had faced before. Tsunamis loomed like mountains, appearing as though a single wave could capsize the Pioneer.
Su Wen took a deep breath, his eyes fixed on a direction toward their front flank. There, he could sense massive fluctuations of soul power.
"This might not be a natural disaster this time," he said slowly.
Hearing Su Wen's words, Hai Da and Zhan Tian Douluo also turned their gazes in the direction Su Wen was looking. Their perception was not as sharp as Su Wen's, so they only noticed the anomaly after his reminder.
"We've accidentally entered the territory of a powerful sea soul beast clan!" Hai Da cried out in alarm. He turned to the sailors who had been readying for a storm and urged, "Set the sails! We need to leave this area immediately!"
A soul beast clan was different from a storm. A natural disaster like a storm was like a rootless weed on the ocean; it formed quickly and dissipated just as fast. One only needed to endure it. But entering the territory of a powerful clan meant that simply waiting in place wouldn't solve the crisis.
The sailors rushed back to their posts, turning the sails and shifting the ship's heading.
"Wait," Su Wen said, his gaze suddenly sharpening as his spiritual power locked onto a light in the far distance. "Stop! Don't be in such a hurry to leave!"
Su Wen took a deep breath as a magnificent vertical eye emerged at the center of his forehead. When he had absorbed the soul ring of the Void Silver Moon Tapir, the Spirit-Illusion Eye had undergone a transformation. Later, after absorbing the ring of the Dark Devilgod Tiger, Su Wen's spiritual power had increased significantly, further fueling the growth of the Spirit-Illusion Eye.
Having claimed the corpse of the Dark Devilgod Tiger and kept its Devilgod Bead for daily refinement, his Spirit-Illusion Eye had been influenced by that power, now possessing a somewhat eerie and sinister aura. In truth, rather than saying it was "influenced," it was more accurate to say that Su Wen had integrated the Devilgod power from the bead into the eye himself.
With the Spirit-Illusion Eye active, Su Wen no longer felt the need to hide. He wasn't even hiding the color of his soul rings anymore, so there was no reason to conceal the vertical eye. Of course, he didn't go around explaining its specific functions to everyone.
Through the Spirit-Illusion Eye, Su Wen looked toward the distance and saw a brilliant beam of light falling from the sky, shining directly upon a specific soul beast. Su Wen took a breath, searching through his memories for a specific record.
"What is it?" Zhan Tian Douluo asked, confused by Su Wen's reaction. From that direction, they could already sense the auras of over a dozen sea soul beasts at the ten-thousand-year level. If they didn't leave now, it would be difficult to escape.
"No need to rush. I've already sensed them. The highest level among these soul beasts is only a hundred-thousand-year one."
Hiss—
The sailors and even Zhan Tian Douluo gasped. What kind of arrogant words are you spouting?!
"Only" a hundred-thousand-year one? Just how much did he look down on the weight of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast to say something like that?
A hundred-thousand-year soul beast was equivalent to a Spirit Master at least at the Rank 95 level. Moreover, outliers among them with extremely powerful bloodlines could rival Rank 96 or even Rank 97 Titled Douluos. The crucial point was that this was the ocean—their home turf. Combined with numerous other ten-thousand-year beasts nearby, this was more terrifying than encountering a Rank 98 Peak Douluo.
"Don't worry, look at that light pillar."
Following Su Wen's finger, they looked closely and could faintly see a pillar of light connecting the sky to the sea. Amidst the dense thunderclouds and the churning gale, one would miss it without looking carefully, likely mistaking it for the trail of a lightning strike.
But even if it was a pillar of light, what of it?
"That light is falling from the stars onto the sea," Su Wen explained. "I've seen records of a corresponding soul beast: the Star-God Clam. It can channel starlight for cultivation and use that same power to provide support to other soul beasts."
"A Star-God Clam?" Zhan Tian Douluo wore a look of utter confusion. Hai Da was equally bewildered.
"The Star-God Clam is a true super-soul beast, on the same tier as the Titan Giant Ape, except it is a support type. Rumor has it they possess the bloodline of a Star God and a natural affinity for starlight. Their cultivation consists entirely of absorbing stellar energy rather than 'lower-level' Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi."
"A clam-type beast... could the pearls it produces be some kind of heavenly treasure?" Zhan Tian Douluo asked. If it was just for a treasure, there was no need to take such a risk.
Su Wen shook his head. "The pearls are certainly valuable, but what is truly precious are its soul ring and soul bone."
"Uh..."
Zhan Tian Douluo and the others were speechless. They had momentarily forgotten that the greatest value of a rare soul beast to a Spirit Master was its ring and bone. This was mainly because no one present currently needed a soul ring, and Su Wen's attributes didn't seem to match a Star-God Clam at all.
"But... none of us need its soul ring," Zhan Tian Douluo pointed out. "A soul bone would be nice, but does this Star-God Clam have a hundred percent chance of dropping one?"
(End of Chapter)